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Tyler James Sherman (born July 17, 1977) is an American television producer and writer. He's best known for creating, producing, and writing Will & Grace, Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy, American Horror Story, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. Early life and education Sherman was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the eldest of two children. His father, James Sherman, is an American cardiothoratic surgeon, who has often been named one of the best neurosurgeons of all time. His mother, Cynthia Sherman, is an American businesswoman, philanthropist, and humanitarian who last served as the chief operating officer of MediRevv, a global revenue cycle management firm. Sherman's father is English, while his mother is half Italian and half Hungarian. In interviews, Sherman has described his parents as devout people who also strongly valued intellectualism and taught their children that it was possible to question the church, and still be a Catholic. Sherman developed a love of science fiction and fantasy novels, especially the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, of which he remains an avid fan. During his adolescence, he also developed an intense interest in fantasy role-playing games, especially Dungeons & Dragons, pastime which he later characterized as an early experience in acting and improvisation. For Sherman's early years, he attended Erskine Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from first to fifth grade. He then went on to attend McKinley Middle School in the same city, from sixth to eighth grade. At age 15, half way into the school year, Sherman moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in the performing arts, mainly screenwriting and producing. He lived in Pacific Palisades a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, he attended a private coeducational college preparatory school, Brentwood School. At age 16, he took the General Equivalency Diploma test, in which he passed, and dropped out of high school. Sherman later stated he dropped out due to his poor attendance, and wasn't motivated to attend school. Sherman stated he was often the victim of bullying during high school for his acne, and odd personality. He later stated in 2016 while speaking to a group of high schoolers, "I was often the victim of bullying. But hey, look at me, my personality is odd, and I was named the sexiest man alive a couple years ago. That acne paid off..." Due to the amount of pressure of the extreme bullying, Sherman stated he fell into a deep depression during high school, which he later revealed was another reason for dropping out and taking the GED exam. Sherman later obtained his B.A in film production and screenwriting, from the University of Southern California in 1996. Career Sherman began as a television writer on the set of the American sitcom, Friends. He served as a writer from 1995 to 1997, where he was credited for writing to full episodes in season 2, "The One With Two Parties", and "The One with the Prom Video". Will & Grace Main article: Will & Grace After serving on the writing staff for Friends, ''NBC's hit sitcom, he started writing his own sitcom, which later would be named Will & Grace. After giving the idea to a low level executive NBC, it made it up to the Chairman of NBC Entertainment where he approved the sitcom for production, and began casting in 1997. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the relationship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), a straight interior designer. During its original run Will & Grace was one of the most successful television series with gay principal characters, and continues to be on its rerun. Despite initial criticism for its particular portrayal of homosexual characters, it went on to become a staple of NBC's Must See TV Thursday night lineup and was met with continued critical acclaim. It was ensconced in the Nielsen top 20 for half of its network run. The show was the highest-rated sitcom among adults 18–49, from 2001 and 2005. Throughout its eight-year run, ''Will & Grace earned 16 Emmy Awards and 83 nominations. Each main actor, with the exception of Morrison, received an Emmy Award throughout the series. In 2014 the Writers Guild of America placed the sitcom at number 32 in their list of the 101 Best Written TV series of all time. Since the final episode aired, the sitcom has been credited with helping and improving public opinion of the LGBT community, with former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden commenting that the show "probably did more to educate the American public" on LGBT issues "than almost anything anybody has ever done so far". In 2014, the Smithsonian Institution added an LGBT history collection to their museum which included items from Will and Grace. The curator Dwight Blocker Bowers stated that the sitcom used "comedy to familiarize a mainstream audience with gay culture" that was "daring and broke ground" in American media. During its original run, Will & Grace was filmed in front of a live studio audience (most episodes and scenes) on Tuesday nights, at Stage 17 in CBS Studio Center, a space that totals 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m2). Will and Grace's apartment is on display at the Emerson College Library, having been donated by the series creator Sherman. When the set was removed in April 2014, rumors came up about a cast reunion, but the actors involved denied that such a reunion was planned. It was merely moved to Emerson's new center in Los Angeles. A long-running legal battle between both the original executive producers and creators and NBC took place between 2003 and 2007. All seasons of the series have been released on DVD and the show has been broadcast in more than 60 countries. Sherman served as the showrunner, executive producer, and senior writer of the show from its start in 1998 to 2006, and was brought back on in the same position for its rerun in 2017, and was renewed for another two seasons after there 2018 season. With Sherman's work on Will & Grace, he has been nominated for a total of nine Primetime Emmy Awards, in which he won two of those, and was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, but lost all nominations. Criminal Minds Main article: Criminal Minds franchise In early 2005, Sherman began the development process for a second television show, which was to be titled, Criminal Minds. He introduced the idea to NBC executives, in which it was denied, therefore Sherman moved to ABC Entertainment, where the idea was accepted. Sherman served as the showrunner from 2005 to 2007, and resigned his position and is currently an executive producer on the show. The show is a police procedural crime drama television series created by Sherman and is the original show in the Criminal Minds ''franchise. It premiered on September 22, 2005, on the broadcast network CBS. The series is produced by Sherman's production company, Aftermath Productions, in association with CBS Television Studios and and ABC Studios (a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company). ''Criminal Minds is set primarily at the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) based in Quantico, Virginia. In accordance with the show's plot, Criminal Minds differs from many procedural dramas by focusing on profiling the criminal, called the "unsub" or "unknown subject", rather than the crime itself. The show has an ensemble cast that has had many cast member changes since its inception. Matthew Gray Gubler, A.J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, and Shemar Moore are the only actors to have appeared in every season. Thomas Gibson appeared in every season through Season 12. The series follows a group of FBI profilers who set about catching various criminals through behavioral profiling. The plot focuses on the team working cases and on the personal lives of the characters, depicting the hardened life and statutory requirements of a profiler. On April 7, 2017, CBS renewed the series for a thirteenth season, but Sherman would not be reappearing in any of his capacities. Spinoffs The show spawned several spin-offs: Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior in 2011, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders in 2016, and a South Korean adaptation in 2017. Grey's Anatomy Sherman is the creator, executive producer, showrunner, and co-head writer of Grey's Anatomy, which is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a mid-season replacement. The fictional series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attending physicians, as they develop into seasoned doctors while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. The title is a play on Gray's Anatomy, a classic human anatomy textbook first published in 1858 in London and written by Henry Gray. Sherman developed the pilot and continues to write for the series; he is also one of the executive producers, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg. Although the series is set in Seattle (at the fictional Seattle Grace, later known as the Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital), it is filmed primarily in Los Angeles, California. The show was originally titled Complications, a double-edged reference to both the complicated medical procedures and personal lives of the characters. The series was designed to be racially diverse and used color-blind casting. It revolves around the title character, Dr. Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, first featured as an intern. The original cast consisted of nine star-billed actors: Pompeo, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T. R. Knight, Chandra Wilson, James Pickens Jr., Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey. The cast has undergone major changes through the series' run, with many members leaving and being replaced by others. In its twelfth season, the show had a large ensemble of sixteen actors, including four characters from the original cast (Meredith Grey, Alex Karev, Miranda Bailey, and Richard Webber). On February 10, 2017, ABC renewed Grey's Anatomy for a fourteenth season, which premiered on September 28, 2017. The series' success catapulted such long-running cast members as Pompeo, Dempsey, and Oh to worldwide recognition; they were among the top five highest-earning television actors in 2013. While the show's ratings have fallen over the course of its run (it was once among the overall top 10 shows in the United States), it is still one of the highest-rated shows among the 18–49 demographic, and the No. 3 drama on all of broadcast television. The series was the highest revenue-earning show on television, in terms of advertising, in the 2007-08 season; in 2017, it was ranked tenth on the list. Grey's Anatomy ranks as ABC's highest-rated drama in its fourteenth season. Grey's Anatomy has been well received by critics throughout much of its run, and has been included in various critics' year-end top ten lists. Since its inception, the show has been described by the media outlets as a television "phenomenon" or a "juggernaut", owing to its longevity and dominant ratings. It is considered to have had a significant effect on popular culture and has received numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama. It has received thirty-eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series. The cast members have also received several accolades for their respective performances. Grey's Anatomy is the longest-running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC, the second-longest scripted primetime ABC show ever, and the second-longest primetime medical drama, after ER. Sherman's currently accolades for this show include a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Spinoffs Private Practice Main article: Private Practice On February 21, 2007, The Wall Street Journal reported that ABC was pursuing a spin-off medical drama television series for Grey's Anatomy featuring Walsh's character, Addison Montgomery. Subsequent reports confirmed the decision, stating that an expanded two-hour broadcast of Grey's Anatomy ''would serve as a backdoor pilot for the proposed spin-off. The cast of ''Grey's Anatomy was reportedly unhappy about the decision, as all hoped the spin-off would have been given to them. Pompeo commented that she felt, as the star, she should have been consulted, and Heigl disclosed that she had hoped for a spin-off for Stevens. The backdoor pilot that aired on May 3, 2007 sees Montgomery take a leave of absence from Seattle Grace Hospital, to visit her best friend from Los Angeles, Naomi Bennett (Merrin Dungey, later Audra McDonald), a reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist. While in Los Angeles, she meets Bennett's colleagues at the Oceanside Wellness Center. The two-hour broadcast entitled "The Other Side of This Life" served as the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of the third season, and was directed by Michael Grossman, according to Variety. The cast included Amy Brenneman, Paul Adelstein, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, Chris Lowell, and Merrin Dungey. Sherman served as an executive producer of the spinoff. Station 19 On May 16, 2017, Sherman announced at the ABC Upfronts that the network ordered another Grey's Anatomy spin-off, this one focusing on firefighters in Seattle. The series is set to premiere mid-season in 2018. Stacy McKee, long-term Grey's writer and executive producer, will serve as the spin-off's showrunner, while Sherman would be credited as an executive producer. The new show will most likely be introduced during an episode of Grey's Anatomy next season. In July 2017, it was announced that Jaina Lee Ortiz was the first actress cast in the spin-off series. In September 2017 it was announced that Jason George, who has played Dr. Ben Warren since season 6, would be leaving Grey's Anatomy to move to the spin-off. He's expected to be a series regular on Grey's Anatomy until the spin-off begins production. In October 2017 it was announced that five new series regulars for the spin off had been cast being Grey Damon, Jay Hayden, Okieriete Onaodowan, Danielle Savre and Barrett Doss. It was also announced that the spin-off had a 10 episode order for the first season. Later in October 2017, it was announced that Miguel Sandoval was cast as the Captain of the firehouse. Grey's Anatomy: B-Team On January 9, 2018, it was announced by Sarah Drew on her Instagram page that a six-episode spin-off series following the new interns of Grey Sloan Memorial would be released for streaming on the ABC app and abc.com on Thursday, January 11, 2018. Grey’s Anatomy: B-Team stars Sophia Taylor Ali (Dahlia Qadri), Jake Borelli (Levi Schmitt), Alex Blue Davis (Casey Parker), Jaicy Elliot (Taryn Helm), Rushi Kota (Vik Roy) and Jeanine Mason (Samantha "Sam" Bello) with special guest appearances made by Justin Chambers (Alex Karev), Kelly McCreary (Maggie Pierce), Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt) and James Pickens Jr. (Richard Webber). The six episodes in this series were written by Barbra Kaye Friend with Grey's Anatomy series regular Sarah Drew (April Kepner) making her directorial debut directing each of them. Sherman would not serve as the executive producer or produce this show. American Horror Story Sherman announced a deal with FX, that he would create, write, and produce a anthology horror story, it was later revealed to be titled American Horror Story. Each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries, following a different set of characters and settings, and a storyline with its own "beginning, middle, and end." Some plot elements of each season are loosely inspired by true events. The only actors to appear in all iterations of the show are Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson. The first season, retroactively subtitled Murder House, takes place in Los Angeles, California, during the year 2011 and centers on a family that moves into a house haunted by its deceased former occupants. The second season, subtitled Asylum, takes place in Massachusetts during the year 1964 and follows the stories of the patients and staff of an institution for the criminally insane. The third season, subtitled Coven, takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the year 2013 and follows a coven of witches who face off against those who wish to destroy them. The fourth season, subtitled Freak Show, takes place in Jupiter, Florida, during the year 1952 and centers around one of the few remaining American freak shows. The fifth season, subtitled Hotel, takes place in Los Angeles during the year 2015 and focuses on the staff and guests of a supernatural hotel. The sixth season, subtitled Roanoke, takes place in North Carolina during the year 2016 and focuses on the paranormal events that take place at an isolated farmhouse. The seventh season, subtitled Cult, takes place in Michigan and centers around a cult terrorizing a suburb in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The series is broadcast on the cable television channel FX in the United States. On January 12, 2017, the series was renewed for an eighth and ninth season. Although reception to individual seasons has varied, American Horror Story has, overall, been well received by television critics, with the majority of the praise going towards the cast, particularly Jessica Lange, who won two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performances. Additionally, Kathy Bates and James Cromwell each won an Emmy Award for their performances, while Lady Gaga won a Golden Globe Award. The series draws consistently high ratings for the FX network, with its first season being the most-viewed new cable series of 2011. With Sherman's work he has been nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards, in which he won one, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, in which he won. Scandal Sherman announced that he would be partnering for another show with ABC Entertainment, and it would be a political thriller television series starring Kerry Washington, in which it debuted on ABC on April 5, 2012, and was named Scandal. Kerry Washington's character, Olivia Pope, is partially based on former George H.W. Bush administration press aide Judy Smith, who serves as a co-executive producer. Sherman serves as the co-showrunner, writer, and executive producer of the show. The show takes place in Washington, D.C. and focuses on Olivia Pope's crisis management firm, Olivia Pope & Associates (OPA), and its staff, as well as staff at the White House and surrounding political scene. In addition to Kerry Washington, the show features Tony Goldwyn as Fitzgerald Grant III, the President of the United States—later a former President—and Olivia's main love interest; Darby Stanchfield as an assistant at OPA (later renamed Quinn Perkins & Associates or QPA), and also the former White House Press Secretary and Chief of Staff; Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins, former assistant at OPA and later head of QPA; Guillermo Diaz as Huck, a former B613 agent and assistant at QPA; Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene, the former White House Chief of Staff under Grant and later Vice President of the United States under Mellie Grant; Joshua Malina as David Rosen, the Attorney General; Bellamy Young as Mellie Grant, the ex–First Lady, a former senator, and later the President of the United States after Grant; Scott Foley as Jake Ballard, the Director of the NSA and Olivia's secondary love interest; Cornelius Smith Jr. as Marcus Walker, a civil rights activist, who used to be an OPA assistant and White House Press Secretary; Joe Morton as Rowan "Eli" Pope, Olivia's father and the former head of a spy agency called B613; and George Newbern as Charlie, a former B613 agent who later becomes a member of QPA. The show was named a Television Program of the Year by the American Film Institute, and Sherman was the recipient of the Peabody Award for Excellence in Television and was honored as Outstanding Drama Series at the Image Awards. Washington has won the Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and has been nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series. The seventh season will be the series' last. How to Get Away with Murder Sherman announced that he would produce an American drama television series, How to Get Away with Murder that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Sherman and ABC Studios. The series airs on ABC as part of a night of programming all under Sherman's Aftermath Production, a television production company. Viola Davis stars as Annalise Keating, a law professor at a prestigious Philadelphia university who, with five of her students, becomes entwined in a murder plot. The show features an ensemble cast with Alfred Enoch, Jack Falahee, Aja Naomi King, Matt McGorry, and Karla Souza as Keating's students, Charlie Weber and Liza Weil as her employees and Billy Brown as a detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, and Annalise's lover. From season three onward, Conrad Ricamora was added to the main cast after recurring heavily in the previous two seasons. For her portrayal, Davis has received critical acclaim; she became the first black woman to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, also winning two SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and the Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Davis has received nominations from the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series, the Critics' Choice Awards for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and the Television Critics Association at the TCA Awards for Individual Achievement in Drama. Other cast members have also received recognition for their performances, with Enoch and Naomi King being nominated by the NAACP as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the GLAAD Awards. On February 10, 2017, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season which premiered on September 28, 2017. Other projects Aftermath Productions Main article: Aftermath Productions Aftermath Production is the name of Sherman's production company. Aftermath and its logo also refer to the shows Sherman has created or produces, and to Sherman himself. His production company has 120 employees, and operates in multiple production studios in both the Warner Bros. Studios, and ABC Studios. His production company has an annual budget of $120 million. Shows included in Aftermath Productions are: * Will & Grace (1998–2006; 2017–present) * Criminal Minds (2005–2018) * Grey's Anatomy (2005–present) * Private Practice (2007–2013) * American Horror Story (2011–present) * Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011) * Scandal (2012–present) * How to Get Away with Murder (2014–present) * Station 19 (2017–present) * Riverdale (2018–present) * Personal life Sexual orientation and relationships Wealth Politics In the media Filmography Film Television Music videos Awards and nominations See also References Main article: Tyler Sherman references External links